Thinking about leaving VZW for T-Mobile

[Shabbypenguin]

I really dig T-mobiles speeds here in Minneapolis- 20-25mb/s and I basically never leave the twin cities so coverage isn't a problem.

Just have to wait for my Sprint contract to end and I'd have to seriously consider switching

if tmobiles whole uncarrier 4 doesnt end up being amazing for etf stuff, id suggest looking into ting. they will give you a 75 dollar credit to switch and show them your etf. pair that with being referred and you have 100 bucks of credit, which will cover a few months of good usage allowing you to pay off/down the etf with sprint. from there hang out on ting for a few months or whatever the etf deal requires (if it requires any) and then hop to tmo free and clear .

or if your etf is rather large you could always enable a custom prl and use my download script and be off in under 6 months

 

[Rxpert83]

if tmobiles whole uncarrier 4 doesnt end up being amazing for etf stuff, id suggest looking into ting. they will give you a 75 dollar credit to switch and show them your etf. pair that with being referred and you have 100 bucks of credit, which will cover a few months of good usage allowing you to pay off/down the etf with sprint. from there hang out on ting for a few months or whatever the etf deal requires (if it requires any) and then hop to tmo free and clear .

or if your etf is rather large you could always enable a custom prl and use my download script and be off in under 6 months

Completely forgotten about ting doing that. Good heads up

I'm not in any hurry to get off Sprint right away though. I'm still on my families plan (so I don't currently pay for my bill), but its getting to the point where I'll probably have to leave it and go off into the sunset on my own the next time my contract is up.

I really have no qualms with Sprint, I just like what T-mobile is doing and their $30 price point doesnt hurt

 

[jamjr74]

I agree t-mobile is cheaper, however I didn't see a huge price difference for me. The big factor is how much data you need. My wife hardly uses any and I use around 3gb per month so the 4gb plan on Verizon is fine for us. I pay $145 (with discount) for 2 smart phones. I was paying $110 on T-Mobile. So a $35 per month difference. However on T-Mobile I have to pay full retail for phones which offsets a majority of the savings. My s4 was free on Verizon. I love what t-mobile is doing however I feel they are also marketing geniuses. The whole no contract thing is kind of smoke and mirrors! You can get the same deal on any carrier when paying full retail. Just my 2 cents.

 

[vedhed21]

I did the switch in the SF Bay Area. Here at home is blazing. I snowboard a lot though. In Tahoe, Utah and Co it can't match my old Verizon coverage. How it improves.

 

[Bodycount]

I agree t-mobile is cheaper, however I didn't see a huge price difference for me. The big factor is how much data you need. My wife hardly uses any and I use around 3gb per month so the 4gb plan on Verizon is fine for us. I pay $145 (with discount) for 2 smart phones. I was paying $110 on T-Mobile. So a $35 per month difference. However on T-Mobile I have to pay full retail for phones which offsets a majority of the savings. My s4 was free on Verizon. I love what t-mobile is doing however I feel they are also marketing geniuses. The whole no contract thing is kind of smoke and mirrors! You can get the same deal on any carrier when paying full retail. Just my 2 cents.

Actually your phone wasn't free on Verizon. Verizon increases the bill to compensate for your phones where as T-Mobile tells you a set price you are paying on your phone. Once the phone is paid off with T-Mobile your bill goes down. Once your two year contract is up with Verizon, your bill stays the same.

That's the main reason why I switched. The no contract thing isn't smoke and mirrors. If you buy your phone outright on T-Mobile, you really have no contract. You can switch carriers at any time. If you leave Verizon early and paid for your phone full price beforehand, you have to pay the early termination fee which is about the same as if you left T-Mobile early without paying for the phone. So honestly Verizon is screwing you over and you are blaming T-Mobile for it. Marketing genius!

 

[jamjr74]

Actually your phone wasn't free on Verizon. Verizon increases the bill to compensate for your phones where as T-Mobile tells you a set price you are paying on your phone. Once the phone is paid off with T-Mobile your bill goes down. Once your two year contract is up with Verizon, your bill stays the same.

That's the main reason why I switched. The no contract thing isn't smoke and mirrors. If you buy your phone outright on T-Mobile, you really have no contract. You can switch carriers at any time. If you leave Verizon early and paid for your phone full price beforehand, you have to pay the early termination fee which is about the same as if you left T-Mobile early without paying for the phone. So honestly Verizon is screwing you over and you are blaming T-Mobile for it. Marketing genius!

Verizon does not increase my bill? I know before hand the plan price and it stays the same, period! How is that "screwing me over"? Also if I purchase my phone outright on Verizon I am not under contract and can leave at anytime without an etf just like t-mobile. Also an Etf is too offset the subsidized phone that's it. On T-Mobile if you leave before phone is paid off then you have to pay phone off in full when leaving which is the exact same thing as an Etf! I am not blaming t-mobile I am just an educated consumer. My point was only that the savings isn't as great as people think when you add in the cost of paying full retail for phones. In some instances Verizon is cheaper, for instance here's my scenario:

Comparison of 2 year cost with phone price for MY ACCOUNT: I have 2 lines, 1 Galaxy S3 and 1 Galaxy S4....

Tmobile- $110 per month= $2640 + Price of 2 phones when they would have been purchased approx $600 each = $1200

Total= $3840 over 2 years

Verizon= $145 per month= $3480 + S3=$199 + $35 activation fee & S4=free no activation fee

Ttoal= $3714 over 2 years

This is my point. For me Verizon is cheaper over 2 years by $126.00!!!!!! Now even if I paid the usual $199 for my device then Verizon is only $79 more over 2 years.... On Tmobile you could always buy only Nexus devices or grab phones from Swappa or Craigslist to save money as well but not many would do that. Believe me I have switched phones and carriers more than most and have price matched extensively and the 4 major carriers are all pretty comaprable in price when it comes down to it and you factor everything in!

I am not trying to rag on Tmobile becuae I think what they are doing is great and will only make the market more competitive but I just think some people feel that they are getting a better deal then they actually are. After all these companies are in the game to make money bottom line.

 

[kate]

if tmobiles whole uncarrier 4 doesnt end up being amazing for etf stuff, id suggest looking into ting. they will give you a 75 dollar credit to switch and show them your etf.

Additional detail - Ting will give you up to $75 off - they will pay 25% of your EFT with a max of $75.

Just have to wait for my Sprint contract to end and I'd have to seriously consider switching
Completely forgotten about ting doing that. Good heads up
Device(s): Nexus 7, Nexus 5

If you bought your Nexus 5 from Google you can use it with Ting. But if it's from Sprint you can't BYOD it yet (you can BYOD most Sprint phones ).

 

[Shabbypenguin]

for me it was a no brainer, i was paying 160 a month with sprint and had an lg optimus g, my wife had an s4. now we are tmobile and her s4 cost us 14 bucks for shipping, and i have a refurb xperia z that will end up costing me 240 bucks. she is on the 30 dollar plan while i have to sit on the 50 dollar plan until my device is paid off.

24*30+24*60=2160 (the phone is in 10 dollar a month payments hence the 60)
vs if I signed up 2 more years on sprint
24*160=3840 and thats not including activation fees, or any phone purchases.

if I follow through on my plan and in 6 months pay off my device my savings will be even cheaper.
24*30+6*50+18*30+240 = $1800

going from sprints unlimited everything to monitoring my usage etc has kind of sucked, but to me the grand over the course of 2 years is well worth it. especially if i were to get on the 30 dollar plan where data isnt a concern then

 

[jamjr74]

Yeah if the $30 plan works for you it is an awesome deal. The 100 talk minutes is a deal breaker for me. I tried groove ip but the quality was poor.

 

[saptech]

Well, one thing with Verizon, if your contract is up, and you continue with their service, you're going to keep paying the same amount with whatever your monthly plan is.

Vzw $80*24=$1920, not including taxes & fees.
Tmo $30*24=$720, not including taxes & fees. I bought my phone for $200

This the type of savings I see, a no brainer, for me anyway.

 

[new optimus]

Yeah if the $30 plan works for you it is an awesome deal. The 100 talk minutes is a deal breaker for me. I tried groove ip but the quality was poor.

I agree here, my dad calls me quite often and I easily go over 100 minutes just talking to him.

I could not take the $50 plan with its 500mb of data either, I could (just barely) take the 2.5gb $60 plan but it just got more expensive then I wanted.
I took a leap and tried Straight Talk, t mobile sim I got unlimited mins and at least 2.5gb data for $43, after walmart employee discount. I have gone over 3gbs with no cut off or slow down though I try to keep it under that.
and a very pleasant surprise I still have t mobile LTE.

 

[saptech]

I'll admit, 100 voice minutes is not quite enough, but so far for me, using Talkatone has been working great. I've only been using Tmo for two weeks and so far so good.

With Vzw, I only had 2gb data plan, which taught me how not to go over, and unlimited talk & text, but I'm not a big talker either.

 

[jamjr74]

Well, one thing with Verizon, if your contract is up, and you continue with their service, you're going to keep paying the same amount with whatever your monthly plan is.

Vzw $80*24=$1920, not including taxes & fees.
Tmo $30*24=$720, not including taxes & fees. I bought my phone for $200

This the type of savings I see, a no brainer, for me anyway.

Yeah I hear ya there. If you are one to grab a phone cheap then it's a good deal. I think the average consumer gets there phones from the carrier and usually every 2-3 Year's upgrades to a new device. So I this case your kinda always paying for the phone on installments and your bill never reduces. Only way to get the true savings is to do what u did or grab a nexus device.

 

[chong67]

VZW does not give you unlimited data (unless grandfather in) like Tmobile does.

With my prepaid plan, on days I am out of the USA, I go back to pay by the minutes plan. You cant do that on a contract.

Prepaid plan you don't pay tax. No 911 or junk fees.

You can get it for a little less on prepaid plan when you refill.

You cant do all this on contract. No contract is priceless to me don't ya think?

 

[jamjr74]

Chong67 you make great points and in your case Tmobile is a great choice. Like I said each carrier offers options that attract it's customer. For me Tmobile just didnt have the coverage period. Nothing more frustrating then needing your phone and it doesnt work! I don't travel outside the U.S. and only use around 3gb a month so unlimited data is not a necessity (although it is a plus).

I also do not like contracts but I also dislike paying full retail for a phone lol. A contract doesnt bother me really though. If I choose to leave Verizon I'll just sell my S4 and cover the termintaion fee which I have done in the past.

Don't get me wrong I dislike so many things that Verizon does but I cannot argue their coverage. If I could match their coverage i would certainly leave for another carrier. I think this is why Verizon does what they do, they know they have the best coverage and know that many are stuck with them!

 

[chong67]

I paid $650 with tax for my HTC One for Tmobile with no contract.

I can sell my phone in less than a year and get $250 out of it on ebay. Loss of $350?

My colleague got a S4 for free on BF, but need to sign a 2 yr contract on Sprint.

 

[new optimus]

Chong67 you make great points and in your case Tmobile is a great choice. Like I said each carrier offers options that attract it's customer. For me Tmobile just didnt have the coverage period. Nothing more frustrating then needing your phone and it doesnt work! I don't travel outside the U.S. and only use around 3gb a month so unlimited data is not a necessity (although it is a plus).

I also do not like contracts but I also dislike paying full retail for a phone lol. A contract doesnt bother me really though. If I choose to leave Verizon I'll just sell my S4 and cover the termintaion fee which I have done in the past.

Don't get me wrong I dislike so many things that Verizon does but I cannot argue their coverage. If I could match their coverage i would certainly leave for another carrier. I think this is why Verizon does what they do, they know they have the best coverage and know that many are stuck with them!

That right there is the boat many are in, when determining who will work for you coverage is king.
However if you don't mind a step down in phone selections there are resellers that can be used to cut costs.
Personally I do mind step down phones. lol That is why I would look into att coverage, you can use any GSM phone that you want, provided it has the att frequencies and its unlocked. Straight talk is again offering att sim cards so you keep that low price and you have 2.5gb of data, also they dont cut you off they just throttle it after that. I do not know how much of a stickler they are on it though. I heard that att is particular they throttle every time you hit 2.5 but that was before straight talk came out with the new att lte sim cards.

 

[Bodycount]

Verizon does not increase my bill? I know before hand the plan price and it stays the same, period! How is that "screwing me over"? Also if I purchase my phone outright on Verizon I am not under contract and can leave at anytime without an etf just like t-mobile. Also an Etf is too offset the subsidized phone that's it. On T-Mobile if you leave before phone is paid off then you have to pay phone off in full when leaving which is the exact same thing as an Etf! I am not blaming t-mobile I am just an educated consumer. My point was only that the savings isn't as great as people think when you add in the cost of paying full retail for phones. In some instances Verizon is cheaper, for instance here's my scenario:

Comparison of 2 year cost with phone price for MY ACCOUNT: I have 2 lines, 1 Galaxy S3 and 1 Galaxy S4....

Tmobile- $110 per month= $2640 + Price of 2 phones when they would have been purchased approx $600 each = $1200

Total= $3840 over 2 years

Verizon= $145 per month= $3480 + S3=$199 + $35 activation fee & S4=free no activation fee

Ttoal= $3714 over 2 years

This is my point. For me Verizon is cheaper over 2 years by $126.00!!!!!! Now even if I paid the usual $199 for my device then Verizon is only $79 more over 2 years.... On Tmobile you could always buy only Nexus devices or grab phones from Swappa or Craigslist to save money as well but not many would do that. Believe me I have switched phones and carriers more than most and have price matched extensively and the 4 major carriers are all pretty comaprable in price when it comes down to it and you factor everything in!

I am not trying to rag on Tmobile becuae I think what they are doing is great and will only make the market more competitive but I just think some people feel that they are getting a better deal then they actually are. After all these companies are in the game to make money bottom line.

You are right. Over 2 years T-Mobile might be a little higher. But you need to look past 2 years. This is where T-Mobile crushes Verzion. Once the phone is paid off the bill goes down to the base fee. Verizon will still be charging you full price. They force you to upgrade to a newer phone and possibly another one time fee for that phone (if it's a newer one). I can choose to keep my old phone if I want and save a little money. You can't.

The only thing Verizon has on T-Mobile is the coverage. They are everywhere. Wish T-Mobile would invest more money in towers.

 

[jamjr74]

I understand your point of view but still stand by my post. Chong ur right u can sell ur htc one but then u have to pay full retail for another! I can sell my free s4 now for $350 but then I have to buy another device. Any way you look at it your paying full retail.
Bodycount you are correct as well about t-mobile bill dropping after the phone is paid off. But realistically how long do you plan on keeping the phone? I upgrade frequently and unless you plan on going 3-4 Year's with the same device I don't see the savings.

To each his own I guess. I'm just always curious as to why everyone rags on Verizon in these forums when clearly they are no more expensive than the other carriers.

 

[new optimus]

I understand your point of view but still stand by my post. Chong ur right u can sell ur htc one but then u have to pay full retail for another! I can sell my free s4 now for $350 but then I have to buy another device. Any way you look at it your paying full retail.
Bodycount you are correct as well about t-mobile bill dropping after the phone is paid off. But realistically how long do you plan on keeping the phone? I upgrade frequently and unless you plan Ok going 3-4 Year's with the same device I don't see the savings.

I think your paying more then full retail for your verizon device, just in payments instead of one lump sum.

I Think all of this is subjective though, you need the plan that works for you.
I like the plan I have $45 per month period. I pay full price for a phone, or buy used and that works out great. If you can go 2 years without upgrading you really save but many people will upgrade every year. Selling the old phone to help defray the cost of the new. A year later and the nexus 4 is selling for maybe half what it was new.

 

[jamjr74]

I think your paying more then full retail for your verizon device, just in payments instead of one lump sum.

I Think all of this is subjective though, you need the plan that works for you.
I like the plan I have $45 per month period. I pay full price for a phone, or buy used and that works out great. If you can go 2 years without upgrading you really save but many people will upgrade every year. Selling the old phone to help defray the cost of the new. A year later and the nexus 4 is selling for maybe half what it was new.

I think thats the confusion most have. Did you see my previous 2 year breakdown. Verizon was cheaper of 2 years then Tmobile! With phone costs of course. I have this discussion with guys at work all the time, lol. If you do the math over 2 years Tmobile is no cheaper! Depending on data use of course.

Tmobile is just being creative with their marketibg thats all!!!! Another example is their new "Houdini" campaing that is coming out where they say they will pay your etf fee to join them up to $350. SOunds great right!! Well from what I have been reading it seems like it will be geared towatd family plans moving 5 lines over who get the $350. A single line might get $50-$100 to offset the etf from another carrier. Still pretty good right? But there a catch, you have to give them your old phone!!!! So in my case I would give them a phone worth $350-$400 and get $50-$100 back!!!!! All I am saying is really look at the deal!!!! Smoke and mirrors!!!!!

If you sit down and price out Verizon, T-Mobile, SPrint and At&t with phone prices they are all fairly close in price. Sure some are a bit cheaper but the savings is just not as great as people think. That is my only point.

 

[jamjr74]

That right there is the boat many are in, when determining who will work for you coverage is king.
However if you don't mind a step down in phone selections there are resellers that can be used to cut costs.
Personally I do mind step down phones. lol That is why I would look into att coverage, you can use any GSM phone that you want, provided it has the att frequencies and its unlocked. Straight talk is again offering att sim cards so you keep that low price and you have 2.5gb of data, also they dont cut you off they just throttle it after that. I do not know how much of a stickler they are on it though. I heard that att is particular they throttle every time you hit 2.5 but that was before straight talk came out with the new att lte sim cards.

I was gonna give straight talk a go with an at&t sim on my Nexus 5 but chickened out,lol.

 

[richmatthews76]

Had T-Mobile back east loved it. Can't get it here in Montana. Would dump Verizon in a heartbeat got To if I could. Smart move!!

 

[new optimus]

I think thats the confusion most have. Did you see my previous 2 year breakdown. Verizon was cheaper of 2 years then Tmobile! With phone costs of course. I have this discussion with guys at work all the time, lol. If you do the math over 2 years Tmobile is no cheaper! Depending on data use of course.

Tmobile is just being creative with their marketibg thats all!!!! Another example is their new "Houdini" campaing that is coming out where they say they will pay your etf fee to join them up to $350. SOunds great right!! Well from what I have been reading it seems like it will be geared towatd family plans moving 5 lines over who get the $350. A single line might get $50-$100 to offset the etf from another carrier. Still pretty good right? But there a catch, you have to give them your old phone!!!! So in my case I would give them a phone worth $350-$400 and get $50-$100 back!!!!! All I am saying is really look at the deal!!!! Smoke and mirrors!!!!!

If you sit down and price out Verizon, T-Mobile, SPrint and At&t with phone prices they are all fairly close in price. Sure some are a bit cheaper but the savings is just not as great as people think. That is my only point.

One thing in your t mobile comparison your forgetting, assuming post paid of course, you list 110 per month, 2 lines, well you actually dont pay 110 for 2 lines, I don't recall what the break down is but you pay 60 the first line and 30 the second, and if you need more data on the second you pay 10 or so more.
oh and you should give straight talk a month, wont cost you but $60 maybe buy the sim and one months service if att coverage sucks you still have your other phone.

 

[jamjr74]

That was my fee for 2 lines. $50 1st line plus $20 for unlimited data. 2nd line was $30 plus $10 for data.